Police book brothers under Sections of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. However, no arrests have been made yet
Chandrakant Patil (left) and Rajaram Patil. The accused have not been arrested yet
Less than a week after mid-day’s cover-page story about two contractor brothers exploiting 18 tribal families in Bhiwandi, Ganeshpuri police filed an FIR on Tuesday. Chandrakant Patil and Rajaram Patil have been booked under Sections of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. However, no arrests have been made yet.
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The Patil brothers had allegedly enslaved the tribal families at Pilanje Budruk Chinchpada village and forced them to work in their brick kiln and stone quarry.
In a report on August 26, mid-day had highlighted the harrowing instances of public flogging and starvation, and the exploitation of the families by entrapping them in small loans. The brothers used these loans to enslave them. A few days after the mid-day’s report, Bhiwandi tehsildar Adhik Patil issued release certificates to the 18 tribal families, comprising 43 members.
Sanjay Gopal Vaghe with his wife Savita. Pic/Rajesh Gupta
The FIR was registered on the complaint of Sanjay Gopal Vaghe, 40, who lost vision in the left eye due to an injury caused while working for the brothers. In his complaint, Vaghe alleged that his father had also worked as a slave for the brothers, and that he himself was forced to work for them from the age of 15.
Vaghe also alleged that they made him work even when he was ill, and would never give him money for treatment. “In 2000, once I was unwell and asked for my remuneration. They gave me Rs 500, but also asked me to work at their brick kiln and stone quarry. Sometimes, they would give me barely Rs 100 or Rs 200,” the FIR stated.
It added, “When I stopped working for Patil brothers, they summoned me again and told me to work for them to repay a loan of Rs 500. I was forced to work from 7 am to 10 pm and if I dared to go elsewhere for work, they would threaten me with dire consequences. My wife and I were forced to work for them.”
Deputy Superintendent of Police Dilip Godbole has been given the charge to investigate the matter.
An officer at the Ganeshpuri police station said, “An FIR has been registered against Chandrakant Patil and his brother Rajaram Patil under Sections 3(1)(n) and 6 of Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and Sections 15, 16, 17, 18 of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976.”
Villagers hold up their release certificates. File pic
“Rajaram, who was last week booked for rape and under POCSO Act, has gone underground. Our investigations are underway. Both the accused will be arrested, as the offences registered against them are highly serious in nature,” the officer added.
Vivek Pandit, the chairman of a government-appointed committee to look into the status of schemes for tribals in Maharashtra, said, “Since the FIR has been registered against the contractors of Bhiwandi, I expect that the [Ganeshpuri] police will act according to the law.”
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